American novelist

Generosity: An Enhancement

What will happen to life when science identifies the genetic basis of happiness? Who will own the patent? Do we dare revise our own temperaments? Funny, fast, and magical, Generosity celebrates both science and the freed imagination. In his most exuberant book yet, Richard Powers asks us to consider the big questions facing humankind as we begin to rewrite our own existence.

New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2009Chicago Tribune Favorite Fiction of 2009Finalist, Arthur C. Clarke Award, 2011Washington Post Best Books of 2009Booklist Editors’ Choice 2009Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Best Books of 2009Kansas City Star Best Books of 2009King County Library System Best of 2009American Library Association Notable Books 2010San Francisco Examiner 10 best Book Club books of 2009Finalist, Indies Choice Book Award for 2010 Adult Fiction Book of the Year

“No writer of our time dreams on a grander scale or more knowingly captures the zeitgeist.” —The Dallas Morning News

“An excellent introduction to Powers’s work, a lighter, leaner treatment of his favorite themes and techniques . . . An engaging story-teller . . . even as he questions the conventions of narrative and character, Generosity gains in momentum and suspense.”—Jay McInerney, The New York Times Book Review

“Powers is a brilliantly imaginative writer, working here with a lightness of touch, a crisp sense of peace, and a distinct warmth. . . . Powers shows both his reach as a student of humanity and his mastery as a storyteller.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“When written by Dostoevsky, Dickens, or Richard Powers at his best, one may feel that [the novel] can contain every facet of the world.”—Michael Dirda, The New York Review of Books